A company owned by Cambridge’s parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats advised BP on the sale of its chemicals businesses, it has been revealed.

Rod Cantrill, who currently represents Newnham on Cambridge City Council, is the owner of Millington Advisory Partners Limited. According to the company’s website, Millington has acted in an advisory capacity for BP, currently the focus of intense debate around climate issues in Cambridge, on several occasions.

Cantrill is currently seeking election as the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge. A spokesperson for the candidate has argued that Cantrill’s company’s relationship with BP is a “non-issue”.

His manifesto states that he will ‘tackle the climate emergency’, and includes a commitment to creating sustainable energy networks. As a member of the city council, Cantrill has also been involved in a number of environmental debates, and earlier this year proposed a motion calling for Cambridge to become carbon neutral by 2030.

BP has been at the centre of climate controversy in the city, particularly the ongoing campaign against links between Cambridge University and the fossil fuel industry. Last month, it was revealed that research conducted at Cambridge’s BP Institute enabled the use of more efficient oil extraction techniques by oil production companies, and was estimated to be worth over £230m to the industry. The report, published by Zero Carbon, has triggered an escalation of climate protests in Cambridge, with protesters blockading the BP Institute on the day of the report’s release.

Cantrill co-founded Millington Advisory Partners in 2002. Since then, the company has provided ‘independent, objective mergers and acquisitions advice’ to a number of clients in the chemicals industry, according to the company’s website. The company’s accounts show that Cantrill and his business partner were paid £95,000 in total dividends from the company in the year to May 2019, and £287,000 in total in the year to 2018.

Speaking to Varsity, Cantrill’s campaign manager accused Daniel Zeichner, Cambridge’s Labour parliamentary candidate, of highlighting Millington’s relationship with BP as part of an attempt “to undermine Rod’s impressive CV on driving forward environmental policy in Cambridge”.

He continued: “I’m not entirely sure where Mr Zeichner gets his information from given Rod has never been employed by BP. Rod was part of an advisory team that did some work on non-oil projects involving BP over 15 years ago. These included technologies for use in solar panels. Rod has never received any money from BP to fund his campaign.”

Through his campaign manager, Cantrill said: “I am not interested in any negative campaigns. Brexit and the climate emergency are too important to ignore in favour of petty party politics. If elected as MP for Cambridge, I will work tirelessly to secure our future in Europe in order that we can work as full members of the international community to tackle the climate emergency.”

• Updated, 22nd November 2019: The headline of this article was amended to remove the suggestion that Millington Advisory Partners' work with BP is ongoing